MALIGNANT TUMORS

As in most developing countries, incidence of cancer is also increasing inPakistan. It is important that information on the frequency and epidemiology of malignant tumorsbe updated, as it is the basis of future health planning for the population at risk. This retrospectivestudy was carried out to find the prevalence of various cancers in the population of Sargodhadistrict (central Punjab, Pakistan) and to compare the regional and international studies, so as toplan and develop the oncology setup of Sargodha Medical College on a rationalized basis ofdisease prevalence. Data from July 2010 to June 2013 was retrieved from the department ofstatistics of the hospital and variables of interest were collected and analyzed using SPSS 10.0. Itwas observed that the most frequent cancer in our patients was breast cancer (n=172) whilecarcinoma of lungs was the most frequent carcinoma in male population (n=24). However ourobservations were a bit different from the international studies published on the subject, theprobable reason being the availability of treatment facility and easier access in the nearbydistricts of Faisalabad and Lahore where many patients still go directly. More over the illiterateand poorer faction of the society does not come to the hospitals for management of the diseasebut rather go to the quakes and faith healers to relieve them of their sufferings. It is concluded thatthe department of clinical oncology should arrange cancer awareness programs for the generalpopulation to avoid delays in getting consultation, as at present they report to the hospital whenthe disease is quite advance and surgery is often not possible. Our study also revealed asomewhat different pattern of malignancies in our community raising a need for further studies toevaluate the reasons for this changed pattern in relation to various etiological factors.